ANN LOVEJOY | Start fall greens now for late, leafy harvest

Summer's finally here, which means it's time to plant fall crops. The next few months are typically warm and fairly dry, making fall a fine time for a second round of spring favorites. My favorite fall crop is sugar snap peas. Though my garden is tiny, I usually get all the peas I can eat. The fall crop provides almost as many peas as the spring batch, and sometimes the plant keep producing into November.

Because my property is home to a large herd of deer, I garden on my sunny, south-facing deck in huge pots. Most of them are tree pots, 20-to-30-gallon tubs that hold nursery trees. I place them on two pieces of 2x4 wood to ensure good drainage for the plant roots and good air circulation for my deck.

I use trellis panels and tomato cages to give peas and beans something to climb on. The first year, I just let them use the deck railings until I discovered that all the peas and beans formed on the south side of the plants. They were plump and lovely but because the house is built into a hillside, the crop dangled nearly twenty feet above the ground. By the time I wrestled the pods through the surrounding foliage, my plants were pretty beat up. Now I plant climbers in the north sides of my pots and place the pots a few feet away from the railings. That way I can harvest easily without damaging the plants.

Besides peas, I plant continuous batches of greens. Leafy greens of all kinds can be planted now, from lettuces and mustard greens to kale and chard. Our long, warm autumns keep the garden productive well into winter (at least in mild years), so try some cool-crop lettuces as well. The French lettuce called Merveille des Quatre Saisons (Marvel Of Four Seasons) is a gorgeous Bibb type with ruddy outer leaves and a bright green heart. It's tender-crisp and utterly delicious and in the maritime Northwest, it can often be harvested year round when you sow it progressively.

Washington State University did winter lettuce trials a few years back and found that many Bibb-type lettuces are reliable cool season performers here, including Blushed Butter Oak, Emerald Oak, Victoria, Yugoslavian Red and Tom Thumb. This last is great for small garden spaces, forming cute little heads that make a pretty entree salad base.

Romaine types are also good fall-winter producers, especially Winter Density and Red Rumple. Red Rumple is especially pretty in holiday salads and has that crisp Romaine quality too. I've also had excellent luck growing Forellenschluss and Trout's Back, also WSU-recommended.

High summer planting requires careful watering, since the soil is usually bone dry. Prep your planting areas well, removing spent plants and any weeds and breaking up soil clods. Water the beds until the soil is uniformly moist, then top evenly with 2-3 inches of compost mulch. Water again, making sure the mulch is evenly moist (or it will wick away all the water).

Once your starts are in place, water them frequently until they are well rooted. Feed them with transplant fertilizer, then follow up with a mild, balanced fertilizer such as Whitney Farms All-Purpose (5-5-5) a few weeks later. When real cold comes, lettuces can get bitter, so give them a little shelter (such as horticultural plastic sheeting) to help keep them sweet.

For more information and lists of winter lettuces, check out this link: